If you live in Quebec, you may have heard of something called the RREGOP. This stands for the government and public employees retirement plan, or the “Régime de retraite des employés du gouvernement et des organismes publics” if you speak French.
RREGOP Meaning
Enacted initially on July 1, 1973, the RREGOP is a Pension Plan that covers regular, casual, full, and part-time employees who work in the health, Public Service, education, and Social Service sectors. It is mandatory for all employees to contribute to the RREGOP.
How is RREGOP Calculated?
To determine your annual pension rate, the following calculation is used:
Annual Basic Pension = Years of Services Credited for Calculation Purposes x Accrual rate of pension (2%) x Average pensionable salary for 5 best-paid years
Wow! That’s a mouthful. So let’s break it down and talk a little bit more about each of these calculation portions.
What are Years of Service Credited for Calculation Purposes? This term simply refers to your number of years of participation in the Pension Plan. To have a “complete year”, you must work full time and be covered by RREGOP.
Within that time frame, you cannot have any leave of absence without pay. If you only work part-time, you will be credited with part-year service. In this case, the salary you would have earned if you worked full time will be considered.
What is the Accrual Rate of Pension? Accrual rate refers to the rate at which vacation time or benefits are earned. This currently sits at 2%.
What is your pensionable salary? Your Pensionable Salary refers to the 5 consecutive years for which your average salary is the highest.
How does RREGOP work?
The RREGOP has many benefits for those enrolled within the program. When you enroll in RREGOP, you can benefit from a pension that is payable immediately upon retirement.
To be exact, you can start collecting your pension the day after you retire. Depending on your situation, pensions may be reduced or unreduced.
What is an unreduced pension?
Unreduced pensions are offered to those over the age of 61 or those who have accumulated 35 years of credited service. You can also receive an unreduced pension if your age + your accredited years of service is 90 or more. In each case, the amount of pension you receive will depend on your calculated RREGOP.
What is a reduced pension?
If you are looking for an early pension but do not have over 35 years of credited service, you can also qualify for a reduced pension. These pensions pay less, but that’s because you are receiving them over a more extended period of time.
If you are between the ages of 55 and 61 but haven’t accumulated 35 years of credited service, it’s the reduced pension that you will receive. Each month of early retirement will receive 0.33% or 4% per year.
Each year, pensions are changed and indexed to suit the cost of living in Canada. You can learn more about index rates and RREGOP’s on the APPA website.
